2011-09-10 - Not So Invisible Helper
Not every call for Sentinel aid is a supervillain attack or the like. Sometimes, it's just a crisis for which normal means and methods are not enough. Like, for instance, a bridge damaged by the surge of waters released when a dam was broken by an earthquake. Said bridge, a lifeblood connection for the city built on a hill overlooking said river, is carrying literally thousands of people home from work in gridlock, and now they are trapped as the damaged bridge could well collapse at any moment. In a panic, the FEMA authorities call for an engineer of pre-eminent skill, who also has power far beyond anything their mere mortal equipment can bring to bear. They call for Iron Man! He gets there as quickly as he can. The sensible people are the ones abandoning their cars and trying to leave the bridge on foot, but the gridlock is such that even doing that is taking too long. Too long...in fact, Tony's immediate realization is that he's not sure what is holding up the bridge. One obvious conclusion comes to him. . o ( Jean? ) Not that he's sure her telekinesis COULD, but it's always possible. There is no response to that telepathic probe, and no sign in the crowds of any lovely redheads. But a detailed scan of the area does turn up something odd. First, the analysis of the bridge's current structure shows that it /should/ already have collapsed. Yet it remains more or less intact, and pretty stable. Further scans across the spectra finally turn up a pretty massive energy signature, which Iron Man's advanced systems can eventually puzzle out to be a simple series of A-frames invisibly supporting the bridge. Somewhere down below the bridge, tucked away where no one is looking right now, the ghostly, not-quite-there form of a young woman, clad in interesting if non-describe and certainly not flashy attire, a dark cap pulled low over blonde hair, is sweating. She has been holding the bridge since she saw what happened. But she's not going to be able to hold this for too much longer. And there's nothing she can do to get those people off of there, without letting go of the bridge. Although Iron Man is not quite sure what *exactly* is going on, it's fairly obvious somebody is holding the bridge up. Which leaves him with the tedious task of removing people from the bridge, as quickly as he can. "Back in your cars!" he calls, because it's easier to move a car full of people than four individuals. Not that they weren't doing the right thing, but... Very loud, speaker-driven voice speaks up, commanding, and the crowd pays attention. So does the young woman down below. Oh, good. Someone is taking charge. Now, if only they can clear the accident at the eastern edge of the bridge, the others will be able to evacuate. The crowd does seem to be obeying that firmly and loudly worded suggestion, heading back to their cars and climbing inside. It's gosh-darned Iron Man, after all. Okay. Priority one. Remove the wrecked vehicles. Iron Man doesn't know how long he has, and he hasn't even managed to locate the super who's doing this. Hopefully he or she won't fall into the water once this is done...people do pass out from power use. The armored hero powers up and adjusts that armor of his, spreading the effect of his repulsor beams to a very wide angle and reducing their thrust as much as possible, starting to push those cars clear of the edge of the bridge. It's noisy work, as those tires protest when moving at improper angles, but they cannot resist that kind of force. Eventually Iron Man can push the cars clear and angle them away from the road, clearing the way for the other vehicles to flee, if only he can smooth out the way so that they can drive without becoming another pile-up all over again. So far, the bridge is holding. It may be swaying a bit. But it is holding. Just don't anyone ask about the nosebleed, damnit. He's doing his best...this is precision work and might take an attempt or to to flatten out the bridge. Come on. This has to work fast. He's sure whoever the unknown super is, he can't keep this up forever. Okay. Smooth it over. "There." That should do it. FEMA troops move in as Iron Man works to smooth out the bridge enough to be driveable. As soon as even one lane is ready, they start waving lighted batons, directing traffic as they guide the cars off at a moderate pace. They could push them faster, but they'd risk someone goofing up and making another damned mess. Thankfully, soon enough Iron Man has more and more lanes ready, and the flow off of the bridge becomes a steady torrent. Iron Man will be enlisted to help, cherry-picking out those vehicles that have been abandonned, their drivers already gone from the bridge, so as to keep things moving. As the last of the cars clears the bridge, the western end sags, and then starts to fall as that massive energy field collapses quickly. They will barely get themselves clear before the bridge falls apart and hurtles towards the riverbed below. That young woman falls back against the rocks down below, becoming completely visible as her reserves of energy fail, her concentration is broken, and she is exhausted enough to just about pass out where she sits. That. Was. Heavy. Damnit. Okay. Good. Everyone's off the bridge...which is going to need to be rebuilt. And what's that? There's a woman on the rocks. Who just passed out, or at least so it looks. Iron Man dives downwards...he can't leave her there, after all. The young woman doesn't stir until Iron Man is right on top of her. Then her eyelids flutter - noisy bootjets will get you every time - and reveal deep blue eyes, a moment before the girl tries to roll away. "You can't stay here...you'll get washed away." He offers her his hand. "Come on. Truce?" She's not registered, but he's not about to arrest her...this time. There's a flash of fear as the girl's bloodstained face lifts, glancing back. Her face clenches as she clearly tries to summon her power, whatever power it was that held the bridge so long. Then her face falls and she nearly collapses with the pain. Nope, circuits are busy. Please try again later. She ducks her head down, nodding slowly. "Better ... I can't hold it back." Sounds defeated. Tired. He's going to move to scoop her up. "Come on...you did a number on yourself." But he's glad she did. Very glad. There's no way he could have got there any faster. Though she would very much /like/ to resist or run away, the young woman does not, and lets Iron Man scoop her up. She looks young like this, curves downplayed in that outfit a good bit, hair bound down under that cap, pulled low over her face, which is dirty /and/ covered in blood from her nosebleed. "Head hurts." she complains. This one has Excedrin sky-written all over it. Ow. Iron Man lifts off, flying away from the bridge and the crowds. Any casual observer will think he's found some casualty and is heading for the hospital...although that's not where he takes her. "I don't have aspirin on me, I'm sorry." The girl mutters darkly. "S'alright. I'll get some." As they get some distance, she finally works up enough gumption to say, "Thanks. For getting them off before I lost it. And getting me out." That has to hurt, needing to thank someone for saving her when she was so focused on saving everyone else. "I'm supposed to turn you in. But I think I can conveniently not realize you were the one doing it." Hey, the guy in the suit seems to be human., Who'da thunk it. "I'd appreciate it." The girl admits. She doesn't want to have to fight her way free of custody and hurt good people. That would suck in so many ways. "Is that going to get you or your boss in trouble?" she asks. "Probably not. If it does...well...I'll get out of it." Tony's weakness for a pretty face is well known. Sometimes it makes a good excuse. "Well, thanks." Is her face pretty despite the dirt and the blood? Probably. Once Iron Man finally sets her down, she ducks her head again. She has been avoiding giving him a full-on look at her face as best she can, but she can't pull up her face mask with the blood. Not right now. "How come you won't turn me in?" she asks. She's not running away, but she's not hanging on him either. She's defensive. "'Cause I'd rather talk to you about it and they can get heavy-handed." If he recognizes her...well...the suit would hide any sign of that. "Talk to me about what? Signing away my life?" This young woman isn't swooning, as appreciative as she may be for his help. "I respect those that do it, as long as they don't become just thugs for the State. But there's no way I could do that." "I had to try." He's not...well, it's impossible to tell what he thinks. But it does seem almost as if he was just...making the effort. "I suppose you did." The girl admits, and nods. "And you could have been a lot worse about it." She appreciates it, that he isn't worse about it. "I know I don't look it." She smirks. "But I'm the Invisible Woman. Most of the time." Well, that would explain why only his best sensors could pick up anything of the energy she was using to keep the bridge up. "Neat trick you have there." Of course, the next recruiting attempt might not be quite so...pleasant. The girl breathes, slowly, evenly. She concentrates, wincing at the pain, and she fades from sight. Still, her voice does not move. She's not running away, she's just proving this is who she is. "Thanks." She pauses for a bit, but high-gain can pick up she's still there, breathing. "We saved them. Have to admit ... that feels mighty good." Iron Man tunes all of his sensors on her. He can't resist it. "I have to admit, I'd love to know how you do it." "I could tell you, but that would ruin the magic of it, wouldn't it?" the young Invisible Woman comments. There's a bit more pep in her voice, now, as if she's feeling more herself. More confident and capable, with her powers working, even if only to a limited degree. "I'd ask you how your armor works, but I'd only understand like one word in three that you used." "I just fly the thing." LIar. But he has managed to keep his secret identity surprisingly well so far. "Well, I would assume you have to understand some of how it works. Field repairs and whatnot." The Invisible Woman comments. Not an unfair assumption. She isn't really thinking that Tony Frelling Stark is inside that armor. That would be crazy talk. As crazy as thinking someone like Susan Storm could be an invisible superheroine. Right? "I have to understand what it can't do. Then work out how to make that cease to exist." Test pilots. The Invisible Woman's voice speaks up in response, "I suppose that makes sense." Her brother, and Ben, would agree with that point of view. That much she knows. "I owe you one, for pulling me out today. And letting me go home. Maybe someday I can repay the favor." "Maybe." Iron Man hesitates. "Can you make it home?" She's clearly not in the best of states right now. "I can make it. But thanks, for asking." the Invisible Woman offers. "You're a pretty nice guy, for a test pilot."